Saturday: Perfect for a number of reasons

sign of - the times

It comes only once a century. So for the host of religious traditions that see 7 as the most sacred digit, 07-07-07 is looking like the perfect day for everything from weddings to worldwide activism.

Or at least it's better than last year's eerie 06-06-06.

According to David Frankfurter, professor of religious studies and history at the University of New Hampshire, the number 7 is characteristic of how God organizes heaven. God completes his creation in seven days. The year of Jubilee comes after seven times seven years. There are seven cardinal sins, seven virtues and a host of apocalyptic signs in Revelation that come in groups of seven .

"In the Bible it's symbolic of perfection," Frankfurter says, "and what Americans have done is kind of turned it into a lucky number."

Moira Smith, librarian for folklore at Indiana University, says three sevens don't carry nearly the symbolic punch of three consecutive sixes, which have long represented the antichrist. But combining the biblically significant digit seven in a pattern of three -- a number that pervades folklore (Goldilocks and the Three Bears, for example) and biblical texts (the Trinity, or Jesus' three days in the tomb) -- makes triple seven a date to pique imaginations.

One thing is certain: It's one of the hottest dates for a wedding in history. Among members of online bridal community TheKnot.com, an estimated 38,000 will wed that day, more than triple the 12,000 that marry on a typical Saturday in July.